Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2006-11-11
Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc.375:177-183,2007
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
8 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in MNRAS
Scientific paper
10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.11277.x
Angular momentum transport in protostellar discs can take place either radially, through turbulence induced by the magnetorotational instability (MRI), or vertically, through the torque exerted by a large-scale magnetic field that threads the disc. Using semi-analytic and numerical results, we construct a model of steady-state discs that includes vertical transport by a centrifugally driven wind as well as MRI-induced turbulence. We present approximate criteria for the occurrence of either one of these mechanisms in an ambipolar diffusion-dominated disc. We derive ``strong field'' solutions in which the angular momentum transport is purely vertical and ``weak field'' solutions that are the stratified-disc analogues of the previously studied MRI channel modes; the latter are transformed into accretion solutions with predominantly radial angular-momentum transport when we implement a turbulent-stress prescription based on published results of numerical simulations. We also analyze ``intermediate field strength'' solutions in which both modes of transport operate at the same radial location; we conclude, however, that significant spatial overlap of these two mechanisms is unlikely to occur in practice. To further advance this study, we have developed a general scheme that incorporates also the Hall and Ohm conductivity regimes in discs with a realistic ionization structure.
Konigl Arieh
Salmeron Raquel
Wardle Mark
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